UPDATE: We have added some additional information and correspondence from the county to provide more context to readers. Lines have been added to include this information, but the text is otherwise unaltered from its original version. –LINK nky Editorial, July 3, 2025
Residents in southern Kenton County met this week to discuss ways to push back against industrial development moving into the area’s rural communities.
Options on the table included countywide petitions, as well as several measures related to conservation, which could serve as potential ways of forestalling industrial development and land acquisition.
“How many times do our communities have to say ‘no’ before you listen?” resident Betsy Berry asked Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann at a meeting of the South Kenton County Citizens Group on Monday.
Specifically, the residents expressed opposition to potential industrial development signaled by the county’s Site Readiness Initiative, a joint venture of the Kenton County Fiscal Court, Northern Kentucky Port Authority and Kenton County Planning and Development Services.
The initiative aims to catalog available land in the county ideal for industrial development. The initiative is in a very early phase; it does not necessarily represent a set-in-stone plan of action. Rather, it establishes guideposts for county officials to assess the amount of developable industrial space in south Kenton County.
The initiative located two areas of focus in the southwest end of the county, which are relatively flat and undeveloped. They also have access to multimodal freight infrastructure due to their proximity to I-71/75, CSX railway and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Focus Area 1 is located in the southwest of Kenton County, close to the Boone County border, US-25, KY-536 and a CSX railway. The area has a total acreage of 2,180, with a potential building coverage of approximately 22.38% of the land.
Focus Area 2 is located in west central Kenton County along the Boone and Grant County borders. It has direct access to US-25. The southern portion of the identified land provides the best area for long-term industrial development.
The details of the land use within the focus areas have changed several times, but the most recent maps the county has provided, released on Feb. 10, are below.
The initiative has proven unpopular among some of the county’s residents, and this was not the first time people have spoken out: Residents expressed opposition in March in front of the fiscal court, in February before the Kenton County Planning Commission and at two public meetings, also in February, at schools in the county. People also spoke out against the initiative in May.
Following push back from residents, the county sent out a letter in March informing them that focus area 2 was being put on pause and that focus area 1 was being reduced in size.
Still, Knochlemann in his letter states that doing nothing, a desire expressed by residents at the meetings, was “not an option… Roads are congested; infrastructure is inadequate; warehouses are being built. We cannot ignore these facts. Change of some sort is organically coming to Southwest Kenton County and, if we do nothing, the problems associated with it will only get worse with resulting bad outcomes.”
In truth, worries about industrial development in the rural parts of the county date back years, as evidenced by the results of a 2016 community survey, which you can read here. The survey’s executive summary states that that survey was the third time the county had solicited feedback from residents since 1996.
An online survey had been circulating in the time leading up to Monday’s meeting. The survey had garnered about 2,900 signatures as of Monday’s meeting, and attendees discussed the idea of collecting signatures on paper, as well.
The meeting also heard presentations from two local conservation experts: Kenton County Conservation District Director Matt Wooten and Banklick Watershed Council Watershed Coordinator Nicole Clements. They discussed various legal mechanisms for protecting land for conservation purposes, such as easements and the establishment of agricultural districts.
Suzann Parker Leist, who ran the meeting, told LINK nky that Wooten and Clements had not been invited to the meeting specifically to discuss how conservation measures could be used to prevent industrial development related to the site readiness initiative, but attendees used the opportunity to ask about the measures.
The establishment of an agricultural district seemed most promising. Agricultural districts were statutorily established in 1982 as a means of preventing prime agricultural land from being converted into other uses. Agricultural districts are also not eligible for annexation by cities and are taxed at special rates. The Kentucky Cabinet of Energy and Environment Cabinet’s dedicated webpage has more information on establishing an agricultural district.
Wooten said that agricultural districts could establish “mitigations” against the use of eminent domain for land appropriation, but neither Wooten nor Clements was absolutely sure if such measures would serve as a hard stop against land conversion. They recommended the attendees consult with attorneys.
Knochelmann attended the meeting and did offer a statement in response to the attendees.
“Everybody’s comments are always valuable,” Knochelmann said. He encouraged people to attend the Kenton County Fiscal Court meeting scheduled for July 22, where he said the fiscal court would dedicate some time to addressing specific questions related to the site readiness initiative.
The fiscal court will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Kenton County Government Center on Simon Kenton Way in Covington. It will also be broadcast online by the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky.
Residents can sign up for email updates about the initiative at kentoncounty.org/706/Site-Readiness-Initiative.
The South Kenton County Citizens Group will meet again on July 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Honey Locust Farms event center in Morning View.